Simplicity
by Syn.estra
Summary: It's hard to stand out in a team full of eccentric people, but Tenten finds that living in the background is not as bad a lifestyle as it seems. Slight Nejiten if you squint. Oneshot.


**A/N: **It's been a while since I've written anything. I set this as a look back at Tenten's life from some time in the future. Hope you enjoy it!

**Summary:** It's hard to stand out in a team full of eccentric people, but Tenten finds that living in the background is not as bad a lifestyle as it seems. Tenten-centric with slight Nejiten.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

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** Simplicity**

Tenten is an enigma of a different sort among the shinobi of Konoha. If any of the Rookie Nine were asked, even they would be unsure of why such a plain and common woman was put onto the same team as a Hyuga prodigy and a taijutsu expert. She did not stand out, and was seemingly a little above an average shinobi. If one were to put it in words, her greatest trait was only to be able to hit a target and never miss. Aside from that, she was merely another insignificant member of Konoha; no one who would be remembered in her village's history for making any sort of great change or impact.

Very few of the more experienced nin would be able to recall any significant memory where the girl was present, save for her squad itself. For the most part, Tenten was never there when it seemed to really matter, or had been away for a completely separate duty than what the others had been assigned. Sure, they were sometimes pulled in to work with one another, but her impression was not exactly one that was full of any sort of impact, so to speak.

Team Gai sees the Weapons Mistress as a modest, but hard-working member of their small family. She is the one they rely on to have their backs, and they know that she will never let them down. To each member of the squad, she is something more than just that. She is the bond that keeps them together and drives them forward to be stronger than they were the day before.

For Gai, Tenten is the one who does not need his help as much as her teammates. She trains and improves by herself, and very rarely needs his assistance for her techniques. He holds a great level of respect for her, just as equal to the level he has for his other students.

The first time he had been introduced to his new squad of Genin, he was curious about the young girl. Her grades allowed her to be at least second in her class, yet the girl before him held no sort of dominating or competitive presence like Lee and Neji. Their was an air of quiet determination surrounding her, and she was rather observant about the others, studying them from the background. Gai was unsure of what to make of his new youthful flower, especially while having his hands full with two high maintenance Genin on his hands.

Their first training exercise consisted of some normal tests to see what level his students were at. That day, he decided they would start off with target practice. Three targets set equally apart was their test at that time. Naturally, Lee was the first to try the task at hand. He lined up on the marker at about ten metres away. The boy managed to hit at least one close to the bulls eye while other kunai were scattered in various places. The next to take the challenge had been Neji. His results landed him with all targets close to the centre, two of them successfully reaching their target. Tenten had been the last to step up to the target, three kunai in hand. She held them with an air of comfort, eyes trained onto the centre of each target. As calmly as releasing a breath, she threw the three weapons at their respective targets. With a resounding thunk, each one hit its mark in the dead centre.

It struck him as impressive when she hit all three targets without missing a single one. However, that impressed feeling evolved into awe as he gave her much more difficult targets to hit. If he wanted her to hit a certain number of leaves off a tree, she could do so without disturbing anything else other than the few requested. He would have her blindfolded and she could still hit a moving target with a great amount of accuracy, unlike anything he had ever seen before. When he had asked about her natural talent, a flicker of a smile grace her delicate features.

"It's a skill I trained for, not one I was born with." She had replied in a cheerful manner, showing one of her palms to him. The hand was laced with small lines that wove around her fingertips from cuts that never fully healed properly, leaving a silvery trail in their midst. The Jounin had no doubt believing that she was also a hard worker from that point.

Gai decided to have her work with basic weapons for the time being. As he let Lee and Neji train together, he took the kunoichi aside and presented her with a pair of nunchucks. After some instruction on proper use, he let her familiarize herself with the weapon. Tenten took to the art rather quickly, and was able to use some of the most complicated of routines while keeping up with the rigorous routine that he was placing all three Genin under. The ease and familiarity that the girl possessed with the weapon was a source of pride for Gai, and he decided that she was ready for more.

Every few weeks since that time, he would give her a new weapon to train with and by the time he found the next one, she would already have the previous tool mastered to the same degree as an expert. This was a talent which never ceased to amaze the jounin, and he found it astounding that such an ability was possessed by such a young kunoichi. The scars that littered her hands were all from hard work, something that her sensei appreciated. By the time the Chuunin Exams rolled around, Tenten knew enough about weapons to be nicknamed 'The Weapons Mistress of Konoha'. To this day, Gai still fondly sees her as his youthful flower, but knows that she has truly lived up to that title he gave to her so long ago.

To put it simply, she needed nothing more than his moral support to bloom into the most youthful of flowers in Konoha. Tenten was, after all, strong enough to forward her own growth.

For Lee, Tenten is a confidant, and his voice of reason. She is the one who is there to help bring him home after literally collapsing from nonstop training, and usually the one to keep him from reaching such a point in the first place. He trusts her to be the one to knock some sense into him before he does anything rash. If he is not careful with his actions, he knows very well that she will put forth her utmost effort into beating a lesson into him. With her vast knowledge and skill, he has very little doubt that she will succeed in doing so. Nonetheless, she is still willing to lend a hand or an ear to help him with his problems, whether it involves winning the heart of a certain pink-haired girl or developing a new taijutsu technique. She is one of the few people who can fully accept his eccentric ways, and has earned his full trust for what she does for his sake.

Lee knows first hand how scary Tenten can be when she wants to be. After the failed mission to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke, she had done a thorough job in extending his stay in the hospital for at least another three days. The taijutsu master knows that she had a reason for that though. The fact she had been so angry was a sign that she had been worried sick, especially because she was not there to protect him or Neji. When they were back to training as a team again, he saw that she left much later than she had before, and still maintains that after seeing what became of her teammates without her there.

In a rare turn of events on one particular morning, Lee had found Tenten collapsed in the middle of the training grounds, which had been devastated to the point of yet another minor deforestation in the area. Weapons and craters were scattered all over the land, and training had not yet begun. In a panicked frenzy, he inadvertently woke the Weapons Mistress up from her temporary slumber. She had been training the entire night, and had not bothered to rest for hours. When he asked for her reason behind this, she was unable to look him in the eye.

"I wasn't good enough before." Tenten looked down at her hands quietly, as if in deep thought. When she looked back at Lee, a new flare of determination set in her eyes. "Next time, I'll be there on time to protect you guys. I'll promise you that." She kept to her word ever since.

Lee knows that Tenten is a selfless individual who will push past her limits to help keep them all safe. He also knows that when it comes down to the people who would chase after him, Neji and Gai-sensei if they were ever in trouble, she would be one of the first there if she was not already tearing their enemies a new one for hurting her precious comrades.

For Neji, she is his closest friend and sparring partner. She understands him without the need for words, and often helps him to escape the exaggerated antics of his two other comrades. Without her interference, he has a feeling that he would have killed his obnoxious sensei and teammate ages ago. Tenten acts as his anchor and guide, helping him to at least hold civil conversations with other shinobi despite his lack of interest in social interaction. It spooks him sometimes at how familiar they are with one another. He knows how to read her as easily as she reads him, which often leads to their friends insinuating that there is something more than just friendship between them. While those rumours are unfounded, he does not deny that they have a closer relationship than what most friends have, but as many things are, it is left as something left unsaid. What they held was something that none of their friends would understand anyways.

Tenten rarely makes any complaints about his sparring requests, even when he knows that at some times they can be a bit difficult for her. He has no worries, because the Weapons Mistress is not a weak person. She is strong and can take anything he throws at her and still keep coming back with the same determination. When it comes to skill, she keeps him on his toes all the time. Neji is quite certain that had it not been for their daily training sessions, he would not have made it as far as he had managed to, nor as quickly.

Neji sees Tenten as nothing less than a woman who is independent and reliable. If there was anyone in the village that he could rely on to keep his blind spot safe, it would be her. There is nothing that he would not do for Tenten, and the feeling is one he knows is mutual between them. Quite frankly, a life without her there is one that he has no comprehension of. She is simply Tenten, and that is enough for him.

For Tenten, being the unnoticed member is something she is proud to be. When it comes down to the most important missions that require stealth, she can easily infiltrate and complete it with the utmost efficiency. Her common appearance lets her blend into a crowd easier than having to resort to the use of a disguise. She is tolerant enough that she can stake out a kill without growing impatient or lazy. While she is not often present for some of the most important battles, she is behind the scenes, preventing even worse ones from having the chance to start.

When it comes down to a life-threatening fight, she is the one who soars above the others. The enemies do not notice her, or deem her to be the weakest link in the event that they do notice; they are much too occupied with three well-reputed shinobi blocking their path. By the time they realize what her absence means, they are too late to do anything. Their final vision before darkness swallows them whole is the glint of several perfectly maintained weapons aiming directly for a vital organ, with the owner moving with all the grace of a ballerina in the air. Her comrades need not bother to watch out for what is above them; they know that she will prevent anything from touching them even from in the middle of the fray.

Out of her team, she is the first one inducted into the ANBU. She has true experience with killing, and has become one of the best in her field because few people remember who she is, let alone recognize her behind a mask. It is the job she was made for, to join the nobodies who Konoha do not and will not remember. Yet even then, she is happy to fulfill her job with the knowledge that her work keeps one more loved one from dying. At the end of the day, she is the one who has the most blood on her hands, but if it is for the sake of protecting her home and family, she does not mind ending a few lives for the cause.

It is a rather simple principle to live by, but Tenten knows fully well that simple is all she needs.

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**A/N: **So there you have it. Not much speech for the most part, but I liked how it turned out. Thanks for reading. Reviews are loved too!


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